Kiryat Eliezer Stadium

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Haifa Municipal Stadium אצטדיון העירוני חיפה
Kiryat Eliezer קריית אליעזר

Location	16 Tzahal Street, Kiryat Eliezer, Haifa 35157
Broke ground	1955
Opened	1956
Owner	Municipality of Haifa
Operator	ETHOS (Organization for the Arts, Culture and Sport, Haifa Inc.)
Surface	Grass
Tenants	Hapoel Haifa (Liga Leumit) (1956-present) Maccabi Haifa (Ligat ha'Al) (1956-present)
Capacity	14,002

The Haifa Municipal Stadium (Hebrew: אצטדיון העירוני חיפה, Etztadion haIroni Haifa), more commonly known as Kiryat Eliezer (Hebrew: קריית אליעזר), is a multi-use stadium in Haifa, Israel. It is currently used mostly for football matches and is the home stadium of Maccabi Haifa and Hapoel Haifa. It is hoped to be replaced by a new Haifa Stadium at the southern entrance to the city by 2012.

1 Background
2 Transportation
3 Gates
4 External links

[edit] Background

The stadium was built in 1955, as a gift from the Italian Labour Union. It seats 14,002 among its 14 gates. Ownership of the stadium belongs to the Municipality of Haifa, though it is managed by a suborganization called ETHOS. ETHOS is managed by Mr. Mark Kisehner. The opening match of the stadium was on September 24, 1955 when Hapoel Haifa was handed a 4-1 drubbing by their city rivals Maccabi Haifa. Prior to this match, both clubs played at Kiryat Haim Stadium in the Kerayot area of Haifa.

The largest win ever to take place at the stadium was on the 24th of May, 1988 when Maccabi Haifa beat Maccabi Tel Aviv by a score of 10:0.

Ticket reader at stadium turnstile

The stadium does not meet UEFA's highest standards forcing the clubs in Haifa to host their European matches in the Tel Aviv area. UEFA also has limited clubs from outside the Tel Aviv area from hosting even low level European qualifiers citing security concerns.

Kiryat Eliezer is the only stadium in Israel equipped with electronic gates in an effort to curb scalping and the sale of counterfeit tickets. Regulars to the stadium may purchase a card for 10 shekels, which can be refilled for specific matches held at the stadium.

There is only one scoreboard in the stadium, which does not have a replay screen. The only television in the stadium, outside of the television broadcast booth, is in front of the seat of Ya'akov Shahar, the owner of Maccabi Haifa. Only the A section of the stadium is covered by a roof, providing great acoustics during matches. Unfortunately, club supporters sit at the opposite end making it sometimes difficult to hear them.

[edit] Transportation

The stadium is located in the Kiryat Eliezer neighborhood of Haifa. Adjacent to the stadium is Beit Egged. Thus the stadium is easily served by all Egged bus lines running into and out of Haifa as well as the Bat Galim Railway Station, which is a central stop for all train lines running up the coast of the Mediterranean Sea.